


Keep It Boiling In The Pot, Soon You've Got-!

by Welsh_Woman



Series: 31 Fics For 31 Days of December [10]
Category: Polar Express - All Media Types, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grew Up Together, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 07:35:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2804627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Welsh_Woman/pseuds/Welsh_Woman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Hot Chocolate</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keep It Boiling In The Pot, Soon You've Got-!

Stiles was nervously bouncing in his seat as the mysterious train-“ ** _The Polar Express_**!"-sped through the town of Beacon Hills, unsure on what to do without his usual sidekick of Scott at his side…

To say _he_ had been surprised that he could hear the train whistle at all would be a bit of an understatement, but even more shocking was the fact that _Scott_ had missed the train; he had made a move to go wake his friend, but the conductor had stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and a firm, “Only you at this stop, lad.”

Now here he was, sitting in the last seat, in the second to last car, eyeing the other kids chattering amongst themselves and completely blank on what to do.

His mind didn’t have long to worry before the train was stopping again, everyone rushing to the windows to see who the last person being picked up was; they had done it with him too, their bright smiles one of the only reasons that Stiles had even came aboard.

The second, of course, was _magic train_ …

"Isn’t he a little _old_ to be here?” He hears one of his fellow train riders snicker and that perks his attention up just enough that he’s sitting up right as the latest addition made his way onto the train, catching the back of a head covered in a thick mop of ebony hair.

"You almost missed us, Mister Hale."

"I wasn’t sure… Cora had said, but she…"

"I’m sure it’s hard to believe in someone who gets up to trouble half the time, but as you can see, we are _very_ real.”

The boy huffs and turns around, making Stiles duck in his seat as soon as he realizes just who it is standing there:

It’s Derek Hale, one of the very few Hale sons and the bane of Stiles’ existence; it had been _Derek_ that had caught him and Scott exploring the Hale Preserve, it had been _Derek_ that had called Stiles’ father instead of letting them off with a warning, and it had been _Derek’s fault_ that they had to spent _a whole week_ under house arrest, unable to see each other save for when they went to school.

That, however, was not the reason that Stiles was currently cowering where he sat, hoping that Derek wouldn’t walk back here; the reason was that when Stiles had retaliated, Derek almost ended up in _jail_ and Stiles just _knew_ the next time the fourteen-year-old saw him, he would end Stiles before he even made it to twelve.

His fellow passengers have started snickering again, commenting on both Derek’s looks and his age; the Hales _are_ a rather large family and, despite being pretty well off, don’t always have money for things. This wouldn’t be the first time that Stiles has seen Derek in hand-me-downs while his sisters walked around in new clothing, and after he takes a quick peek around the train car, he can see they’re also right about Derek being the oldest one there with Heather-From-Down-The-Street being the closest at twelve-and-a-half.

If he wasn’t so worried about being torn to pieces, Stiles would snap at them to mind their own business and that it didn’t matter how old Derek was; if the Polar Express decided to pick him up, then he sure as heck deserved to be here!

_**Come on**_! _Magic train_ beats snap judgements!

As it is, he can only watch as Derek’s shoulders start to raise to his ears, his face flushing a dull red as the jeering gets louder, making Stiles’ fear seem distant to this humiliation; but before he can make them stop, Derek is stomping down the walkway and completely past were Stiles is hiding without so much as a look his way.

The slam of the door closing between carts still makes him wince, though.

As soon as the conductor comes back, they’ve all gone back to perfect little angels and it makes Stiles want to tell on them, even though it’ll make his pants catch fire, but he’s too distracted by the refreshments coming in to remember what it is he’s going to say.

Delighted by the song and dance going on, Stiles leans out of his seat to see if Derek is enjoying it too so he can have some blackmail on him later, but is thrown by the fact that the only thing he can see is the teenager sitting alone in the back, his gaze focused out the window.

Determined to make up for the awful way he was welcomed, Stiles snags two cups while everyone is focused on the singing and dancing, slipping through the car door with only a minimal amount of effort.

It still slams behind him and makes Stiles jump when Derek’s head jerk up and stare right at him. Does he still remember…?

"Stilinski."

Oh, yeah. He remembers.

"I bring a peace offering," Stiles says, quoting his father whenever his mom had been mad at him, holding up the drinks like Derek can’t see them from where he sits.

The older boy raises a brow, “Are both of those for me?”

"If you promise not to kill me."

"Wha- I’m not gonna to kill you, Stiles! I was joking, anyway!" Derek’s look has soured and he’s staring outside again, which just defeats the quest that Stiles had embarked on, but something has stuck out in Derek’s comment…

"You remembered my name?"

"It’s hard to forget the name of the kid that almost landed me in _jail_.”

"I didn’t mean-"

"I know you didn’t, that’s why I’m not gonna kill you." Derek turns away from the window and smirks a little. "That _was_ pretty impressive, though. It took me a little bit to find out who could’ve set me up like that.”

Stiles tries not to beam at the praise, but it’s kinda hard not to when a _fourteen-year-old_ just said _he_ was _impressive_. Not really sure what to say to that, Stiles just hands Derek the hot chocolate, hoping that it’s still warm.

Derek takes the cup with a smirk, which slips when he takes a drink and his eyes grow like the ones on the cartoons Stiles watches in the mornings he doesn’t have school. “How did-?”

Stiles doesn’t understand how Derek could get so worked up about hot chocolate and takes his own sip, his eyes watering as soon as the taste hits his tongue.

It’s thick, a little darker than most people would drink their hot choco and there’s just a hint of cinnamon at the back of his throat.

Just like his mother used to make.

"How did you know about the peppermint?" Derek’s looking at Stiles like he’s a mythical creature now and Stiles squirms under the scrutiny.

"I didn’t. I just grabbed a cup…" He takes another small sip, savoring the flavor and trying to make it last as long as possible, Derek seeming to be in no hurry to finish his either. "It’s just like my mom used to make, with a little bit of cinnamon."

Derek is quiet for a little bit before he grins, a small, shy thing so unlike his earlier smirk and states, “Magic train.”

Stiles can’t help but grin back. “Magic train.

(He also doesn’t go back to his seat for the rest of the ride.)

**Author's Note:**

> The reason that Scott can't hear the train is because this is right after his dad left, so he stopped believing in _everything_ for a little while.
> 
> He's super jealous when Stiles tells him about it later, and he's there the nest year, grudgingly accepting Derek's presence.


End file.
